GMAT vs Jack of All Trades

[showbiz]

Hi,

Herewith my profile.

High School (12th) from South Africa: 80%
Undergrad from NYU: GPA 3.8
Masters from NYU: GPA 4.0

5 years working in Finance as a software consultant (Lehman Brothers, HSBC, a few hedge funds)
1 year work with my own NGO that I started in Africa.
2 years in outdoor advertising as EA to COO.

8 years of total work experience.
6 years abroad (USA 5, India 2, Africa 1)

On the writing staff of well known television shows and stand up comedy writer.

My GMAT attempts are not going as expected. What is the bare minimum GMAT for me to apply to ISB and INSEAD?

[Heidi Granner]

Hi showbiz,

Thanks for your post. You appear to have a solid profile - strong academics, significant work experience, and diverse extracurricular activities. The GMAT is an important piece of the application, but with a balanced, high quality application it is not necessarily a deal breaker.

The safest bet on the GMAT is to at a minimum score within the 80% range for the school. For ISB, this would be a minimum of 670 (80% GMAT range is 670-750) and for INSEAD this would be a minimum of 680 (25th percentile to 75th percentile GMAT = 680-730).

A couple ways to balance a lower than desired GMAT:
-Quant score is generally weighted heavier by the admissions committee, so if you don't quite meet the minimum total score of the range but your quant score is significantly higher than your verbal than this helps
-You had great undergrad and masters GPAs at a strong school, so if your major was in a quantitative area (e.g., economics, engineering, computer science, finance) then this will help demonstrate your academic abilities
-Highlight success in analytical aspects of your work experience

All that said, applicants are admitted to top schools with GMAT scores below the range, so submitting a quality application and convincing story will be critical. Your writing experience will be a strong differentiator as will your experience starting an NGO.

Please feel free to forward your resume to [email protected] for a detailed and free profile evaluation.

Best,
Heidi
_________________
Heidi Granner
Clear Admit, LLC
[email protected]
215.568.2590

Stay Informed with Clear Admit!
Read our Blog for daily MBA admissions tips and updates.
Follow us on Twitter for breaking b-school news.
Download our Publications on MBA programs and admissions strategy.
Visit our MBA Admissions Wiki to read and share application insights.